PESHAWAR: Imran Khan may have trouble hearing and speaking but he needs not bother about it as his hand paints such beautiful images, which speak for this young talented artist.

He almost risked losing his hand as an infant when he badly burnt it. His mother saved it with constant care making Imran feel eternally grateful to her for it.

However, he himself is very resilient person as he almost lost his hearing and power of speaking as a three-year old child due to severe fever but his inner artist eager to bloom brought him back to life.

Now, in his 30s, he is most talented – though humble- artist of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and perhaps the next Gulgee of Pakistan.

“I made portrait of my teacher on my takhti (wooden writing slate), while other children wrote words. He beat me up on my hands saying it’s blasphemous to make sketches,” said Imran Khan while sharing his first day in school.

Imran says he paints to show the world Pakhtuns are peaceful people

Since his teacher believed that one would go to hell for making images, he banned Imran from making any sketches for the next five years in the primary school as the artist said while sitting in his small office in Peshawar Museum with few water colour paintings of an old Pakhtun man, an Afghan child and Ajab Khan Afridi – a Pakhtun freedom fighter – lying around.

He currently is working to restore old paintings at the museum, while some are already on display. He picked up a brush and began painting a ‘beautiful image’ as he continued to tell about his art and life.

“The punishment could not stop me from making portraits as it was a natural talent,” said Imran khan with a stutter and a smile while remembering his childhood days since it was not an easy childhood.

The son of a poor fruit vendor from Peshawar, he had eight siblings and therefore, he’d little hope of ever going to a fancy school to show his talents. But his elder brothers, who painted trucks with colours for livelihood, took him along to the workplace. While his brothers painted the trucks with beautiful images, he would practice there.

His father could not pay for his college fee, so he told Imran to stop thinking of college and paint for a living and therefore, Imran ended up with a painter, who pained film advertisement boards for different cinemas.

“I used to see Ustaaz Ismail paint film advertisements. I would steal few colours - mostly leftovers - and paint at home on a canvas I pasted on a wall in my house. When I showed my work to my Ustaaz, he was amazed,” said Imran.

When the cinemas went out of business so did the painting job. Imran forced to sell his natural talents to not fill his belly but to pay for his education moved on to work at the Indus Valley, where he painted old and new earthenware or pottery with Gandhara art.

The earning helped him take college exams as a private student and get an intermediate degree. When other students above the waiting list for admission into arts and design department at the University of Peshawar went ahead for interview with good grades, Imran being much below on the list took his paintings with him.

“I am not here just for the degree but to practice art. Arts is all about practical work not marks,” Imran told department chairman Shaheedullah, who interviewed him.

Somehow (looks like the system works) and he got a call from the university after a few days to join. Imran topped the first exam. Now, he has a university degree.

“I am an all-rounder. I can work with acrylic, oil colours, water colours, charcoal, pastel, calligraphy say anything but I like myself water colour as it is challenging. It needs practice and I love it,” said Imran with confidence.

But he just doesn’t paint for the love of it, he has a purpose. He wants to show the world that Pakhtuns are peaceful people with his art. Imran said he did not like it when the world thought of Pakhtun as terrorist. Pakhtun is an artist too who loves fine arts.

“I make Pakhtuns’ portraits to show the world our culture, history and character,” said the artist, who has won Young Pakistan Artist Award, Gulgee Award and many more.

He is paid Rs30,000 honorarium under the ‘Living Treasure of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ initiative launched by the provincial government to honour talented people of the province.

“This is not end of my story but just a glimpse into a great beginning of my life,” he said completing a painting, which he began as he started telling his story.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2018